moore



H. K. MOORE.

CATALYST.

APPLICATION FILED APR.4. I9I6.

Patented Dec. 30, 1919.

- Jmvenzor Hug/v 76 7fZaofd flio rug 8 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HUGH K. MOORE, or BERLIN, NEW HAMPSHIRE, AssIGNon ro BROWN courANY, or

BERLIN, NEW HAMPSHIRE, A CORPORATION or MAINE.

,cATALYsr.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Dec. 30, 1919.

Original application filed October 31, 1914, SerialNc. 869,689. Dividedand this application filed April 4,

' 1916. Serial No. 88,924.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HUGH K. MOORE, a

citizen of the United States, residing at Berlin, in the county of Coosand State of New Hampshire, have invented new and useful Improvements inCatalysts, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates generally to the hydrogenation or reduction ofunsaturated compounds, such as the fatty acids, their esters or theirglycerids, and more particularly to catalysts for'use in suchhydrogenation or reduction. 1

As described in Letters Patent No. 1,121,860, granted to me December 22,1914, such compounds may be more or less completely hydrogenized byforclng the same in finely divide condition and in admixture withhydroge through a body or layer of finely divided catalytic materialsupported upon a layer'of material pe vious to the compound and to gasbut mpervious to the catalytic material. As pointed out therein, it isunnecessary to deposit the catalyst upon pumice, kieselguhror the like,as preferably it is in a pure finely divided state and in a layersufficiently thin to permit the passage of the gas and the compoundtherethrough;

I have found that, when a layer of a catalytic material is formed in oris supported by a diaphragm in thehydrogenating apparatus, there is aPOSSlblllt) of cracks forming therein, through which a portion of thecompound to be hydrogenized may pass without the addition of hydrogenthereto, and that the resulting product may therefore vary from thedesired standard. To overcome this trouble, I provide a binder for thelayer of catalytic material, which will mechanically operate to preventthe formation of cracks or fissures. Any suitable, preferably inertmaterial may be used for this purpose, such as long asbestosfibers whichmay be mechanically mixed with the catalyst.

On the accompanying drawing the figure represents a diaphragm and itssupport, such diaphragm includingseveral layers of catalytic materialand a binder therefor.

Referring to said drawing, 40 indicates a grid or support adapted to belocated within the casing or shell of a hydrogenating apparatus such asdescribed in my co-pending application Serial No. 869,689, filed October31, 1914, of which this is a division. The upper surface of the grid isprovided with intersecting V-shaped grooves 41, the bottoms of whichcommunicate with the apertures 42. Thus the upper surface of the grid isprovided with a series of rows of pyramidal projections 43. This grid isutilized for supporting the diaphragm. Upon it may be placed a sheet ofheavy steel wire cloth 44 which is preferably rolled to flatten theexposed surfaces of the wires. The rolling of the cloth stifl'ens it andsecurely interlocks the wires. Upon the wire cloth 44 may be placed asecond sheet of wire cloth 45 formed of much finer wire and with muchsmaller mesh. These three elements, to wit, the perforated grid and thetwo layers of wire cloth constitute a support for the diaphragm, and theconstruction and arrangement are such that the diaphragm is supported atvery closely adjacent points where it comes in contact with the finewire cloth, to prevent its yielding or breaking. Upon the wire cloth 45is placed a sheet 46 of inert material, such as asbestos paper, which ispervious to oil and gas but impervious to the catalytic material. Thecatalytic material is in a finely divided state and may be formed of theusual metals, including, for example, palladium, platinum, nickel, etc.Assuming that nickel is to be used as the catalyst, nickel oxid in afinely divided condition is thoroughly mixed with long or stringy asbestos fiber, and a layer thereof is placed upon the sheet 46 asindicated at 47. A second sheet 48 of asbestos may then be placed uponthe layer 47, and a second layer 48 of nickel oXid and asbestos laidthereon as indicated at 49. To hold the layers in place, there islocated above them a sheet 50 of fine wir cloth.

I have stated that the layer of catalytic material contains in mixturtherewith long fibered asbestos. This is a mechanical mixture, theasbestos being utilized to prevent the layer of catalytic material fromcracking, very much as hair has been used in plaster for a similarpurpose. Only a small quantity ofasbestos fiber is necessary for thepurpose. After the diaphragm is formed with nickel oxid, for instance,for providing the catalytic material, hydrogen at the proper temperatureis passed therethrough to reduce it to its active condition. The reduction takes place at approximately 570 F and hence the gas is heatedpreferably to a temperature between 600? F. and 650 F. before beingbrought into contact with the diaphragm. For a more complete descriptionof the treatment of the gas, reference may be had to my saidapplication.

Having thus explained the nature of my said invention and described away of making and using the same, although without attempting to setforth all of the forms in which it may be made or all of the modes ofits use, what I claim is:

1. A catalyst for hydrogenating unsaturated' compounds, consisting of alayer of active catalyzing material admixed with but not precipitated ordeposited upon a fibrous binder.

2; A catalyst for hydrogenating unsaturated com ounds, consisting of alayer of active cat-a yzing material a mixed with but not precipitatedor deposited upon inert fibers which act as a binder for the catalyzingmaterial. 7 f

3. A catalyst for hydrogenating unsaturated com ounds, consisting of alayer of active cata yzing material admixed with but not precipitated ordeposited upon asbestos fibers to prevent the layer from cracking.

In testlmony whereof I have affixed my signature.

HUGH K. MOORE.

